The real assist on the Penguins’ first goal of this Game 7 against Montreal belongs to the official who got in front of Kris Letang’s shot on net, as it bounced off him and right in front of Chris Kunitz.

Kunitz got his fourth playoff goal, going upstairs on Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak to make it 4-1 at 8:36 of the second period.

Cammelleri scored his NHL-best 12th goal of the playoffs and seventh of the series to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead over the Penguins at 3:32 of the second period. Andrei Kostitsyn and Jaroslav Spacek assisted.

Kostitsyn was called for a roughing penalty 27 seconds later, but the Penguins gave up a short-handed goal to Travis Moen, who outraced lethargic defenseman Sergei Gonchar along the boards for the puck and then beat goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 4-0 at 5:14.

Former Penguins center Dominic Moore — who scored the game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their first-round series — fired a shot from the top of the right circle to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead over the Penguins at 14:23 of the first period at Mellon Arena.

The play occurred with no one protecting the net, other than Fleury. Penguins defenseman Brooks Oprik was behind the cage, repeatedly hitting pest Maxim Lapierre into the backside of the goal.

After drawing a penalty that led to a Montreal goal only 32 seconds into the game, Sidney Crosby led a rush that turned into a two-on-one when Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill fell after colliding with partner Josh Gorges.

Crosby made an ill-advised pass to Max Talbot that Gorges got a piece of his stick on to break up the scoring chance.

The Penguins then got a break when Dominic Moore was called for goaltender interference after Marc-Andre Fleury blocked his breakaway and Maxim Lapierre’s rebound hit the right post.

What did the Penguins do?

Answer with one of the most putrid power-play performances we’ve seen in some time at Mellon Arena, one that saw Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bill Guerin lose the puck and let it cross the blue line. Letang later had a turnover that led to a Tomas Plekanec breakaway.

Despite giving up the first goal on the first shot he faced, Fleury has made several difficult saves so far.

Sidney Crosby was called for boarding Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges — who had his back to the Penguins captain — only 10 seconds into Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Mellon Arena.

Only 22 seconds later, the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead when Brian Gionta scored his sixth playoff goal by redirecting a backhand from the left circle by defenseman PK Subban.

It was the third time in the playoffs that Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury allowed the first goal on the first shot he faced.

And, to make matters worse, the Penguins got a penalty in the process.

Matt Cooke was called for high-sticking, keeping the penalty kill unit on the ice without one of its top performers. But the Penguins escaped that infraction without giving up another goal.

The Penguins got goals from defensemen Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar and 59 minutes of shutout play by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to beat Montreal, 2-1, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Mellon Arena.
Michael Cammelleri scored a power-play goal on a 6-on-4 with 29.7 seconds left to erase Fleury’s shutout bid after the Penguins missed on a pair of empty-net attempts.
The Penguins have a 3-2 lead over the Canadiens in the best-of-seven series.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are now within one game of clinching their third consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference final.
Game 6 is at 7 p.m. Monday at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

With a 2-0 lead and the Penguins on a power play, Evgeni Malkin made the mistake of taking a bad penalty when he reacted to a non-call by hitting Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges in the face.
The roughing penalty put the Penguins in a 4-on-4 instead of a man-advantage, then the penalty kill when it should have been even strength.
The Canadiens were looking for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron on the power play, and it’s no wonder. At today’s morning practice, Bergeron put a spider web in the glass behind the Penguins net with a slap shot.
Bergeron got his opportunity on a one-timer from the right point, but Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a nice pad save to stop it.

Sarge stroked it.
Sergei Gonchar scored his second playoff goal, taking a feed from Brooks Orpik and firing a slap shot from the right point past Jaroslav Halak to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens at 9:50 of the second period of Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Mellon Arena.
It marked the first-ever NHL playoff point for Mark Letestu, who got the secondary assist. It was the sixth even-strength goal for the Penguins in this series, although two came on empty-netters.

The second period has been a shootout.
The Penguins started the second period at a disadvantage, with Chris Kunitz in the penalty box after a cross-checking penalty in the 20th minute of the first period of their Eastern Conference semifinal with Montreal.
The Canadiens fired five shots on goal in the first 4:08, blistering Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with scoring attempts. Fleury responded with one fantastic save after another, going full butterfly to stop a Tomas Plekanec point-blank shot.
The Penguins responded with an assault of their own, and Jaroslav Halak was game. He made a pad save of a Matt Cooke wrister from the left circle and stopped Evgeni Malkin on a two-on-one breakaway with Sidney Crosby.
Fleury might have made the best save so far, blocking one shot with his chest and then flopping onto his stomach and swiping a loose puck out of the crease with the backhand blade of his stick.
After combining for 15 shots in the first period, the teams already have 30 attempts midway through the second.